Florida Dems Rebuked by DNC

The Democratic National Committee stripped Florida of its national convention delegates on Saturday, rendering the state's Democratic presidential primary officially meaningless and delivering a stern message to states looking to bump up their presidential primaries.

There's small print, of course. Democrats in the Sunshine State have 30 days to settle their differences with the national party before the change takes effect. And state party representatives are now saying they were "steamrolled" by Republicans in the legislature who were dead set on changing the primary date. Despite the DNC's punishment for Florida, Michigan still looks likely to reschedule its primary for Jan. 15. That move could also bring retaliation from national party officials. Will Michigan and Florida back down before their attempts to make their primaries more relevant backfire? The Detroit Free Press' Dawson Bell doesn't think so:

No one knows for sure if the DNC will follow through. It's hard to imagine the Democratic nominee next summer telling the voters of the most critical swing state in the country -- Florida -- that their convention votes don't count.